Storm of the Soul
by Blackbird0
Summary: Waking up in a world where demi-gods roam the lands in the guise of humans, it was easy to decide my goal. Power. Immortality. Godhood. It was even easier to figure out how far I was willing to go; as far as it takes. In the wake of one person travels change, and along the path to godhood, an empire rises. Fluid like the waves, fierce like the winds, and as unstoppable as a storm.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or it's characters**

A feeling of excitement bubbled in the pit of my stomach as I observed the busy room. Children were speaking loudly to each other, some shouting across the classroom like the six year olds they were. It was almost impossible to imagine the shy, pudgy boy in the corner was Akimichi Chouza who would one day become a fierce warrior and Clan head, and that the yawning boy next to him was Nara Shikaku, future jounin commander. Uchiha Mikoto, the Uchiha heiress was speaking happily to one of her cousins. Another scan revealed a young Yamanaka Inoichi rough housing with a few other boys. They were so innocent. Annoying too, but I was willing to cut them some slack due to their age.

Surveying the room once more, I allowed myself a small smile. My next four years would be spent here with these people. The door to the classroom opened and a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties stepped in. He was wearing a baggy, padded jacket and a closer inspection revealed one of his sleeves was empty. Calling for silence, he introduced himself.

"My name is Hanazanou Toru, Toru-sensei to you lot. We'll be covering a variety of topics over the next four years to teach you all to be proud ninja in service to the Hokage and Konoha. You kids are the ones with the best test scores and most potential, and as such I expect everyone here to study diligently."

And indeed, we had been tested. They had a rather ruthless entrance exam filled with trick questions and difficult kanji that even caught me out a few times.

"In the first year we'll be covering language, math, shinobi protocol, chakra theory, tactics and fitness. We'll be starting with the history of Konoha's founding. You'll find your textbooks underneath your desks. Open to page three please."

Rustling filled the room as everyone did as asked. Perhaps it was the culture of following your superior's orders or the fact that there were no child endangerment laws (and hadn't that explained an awful lot) and as such beatings were considered acceptable punishment, but not one kid made a peep.

It was only after opening my book that I finally realised something so obvious that I felt like a complete idiot. I... was in a class of six year olds. Ninja in training or not, they had limited vocabulary and little practice reading. By the time the first kid had stuttered his way through the paragraph, I was already contemplating homicide.

"And to-to-gether the Senju and U-chi-ha clans fun-ded, ah, um founded the village."

 _By the Shinigami, four more years of this?_

Luckily I had years of practice ignoring annoying sounds. I've lived six years of this life in an orphanage where young children constantly whined, complained or screamed in excitement, setting off the babies next door. Sometime all at the same time. It was honestly a miracle that I hadn't gone insane listening to all those brats and burned the whole bloody place down.

Tuning out the class, I sped-read through the history book meant for the year. It was nothing I hadn't already read previously during my excursions to the civilian library or in my books 'borrowed' from the older orphans. Fifteen minutes had gone by and I was so engrossed with mentally scoffing at the blatant Konoha bias that I didn't notice my name being called. It was only after an elbow was jammed into my side that I jolted back to awareness to find all the other kids snickering at me, with Toru looking on disapprovingly.

"Pay attention, you're already slacking off and it's the first day. I expect better from my students."

"Sorry sensei. What was the question?" I asked giving him large, blue apologetic eyes. Softening despite himself, he answered, "I asked if anyone knows the role of the Uchiha now," while he attempted a disappointed stare in my direction. _Hah, buddy you're a hundred years too early for that to work on me._ Despite being annoyed at being caught, I responded:

"The Uchiha work as the Military Police which was established by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. The MP are responsible for in-village security and maintaining peace amongst civilians. Tobirama-sama reasoned that with their bloodline, the sharingan, the Uchiha would make ideal candidates to patrol the village and discover intruders. The Second also gifted the Uchiha a portion of land as thanks for their services to the village."

I was about to continue but realised the class was silent and once again staring at me, this time because of my mature way of speaking. Looking a little shocked, Toru spoke up.

"Well done, that was very well answered. Make sure to pay attention next time, ok Namikaze-kun?"

"Ok, sensei."

Ah. Did I mention I had been reincarnated as Namikaze Minato?

~~~~~~~~S.o.t.S~~~~~~~~~~~

My first months in this world were a blur of sensations and emotion. Hunger; fear; warmth; panic; exhaustion. If I were to sum it up in one word, it would be instinct. It was only after turning six months old that I was able to string together a coherent thought and actually process my surroundings. Later, I realised that my brain had finally adapted to my mind, but at that moment all I felt was confusion.

 _What...had happened?_

I would have stared at the ceiling for the whole day if I hadn't been jolted out of my daze by a sudden wail from somewhere in the room. Turning my head took more effort than I had ever remembered, and when I succeeded, I realised I was in a crib, in a room filled with other babies in cribs. And now that one had started wailing the others did too.

Some time later I was back to staring at the ceiling again. Somebody had come in and fed and changed all of us, quieting the wails so that silence reigned once more. In my past life, I had prided myself on being a logical person, so I didn't waste any time believing that I was crazy. I knew I wasn't, the memory of dying was carved into my mind, so the only logical conclusion is that I had been reborn. Reaching down to my diaper, I realized _as a boy._ Once I had accepted the absurdity of my situation, I began to plan.

 _Oh yeah, first person to graduate university at 8, here I come_ , I snickered mentally to myself. It was as I was planning on how to use my knowledge of future business success to invest and earn myself a fortune that the door was opened again, this time the caretaker was followed by a woman who was carrying another baby and placed it in one of the few spare cribs. However the thing that caught my attention was not the people, but what they were wearing. Or more specifically, the headband with a leaf carved on it that the woman leaving the baby was wearing.

 _Holy..._

I'll admit this revelation shook me a lot more than my initial realization of rebirth. Once again, I was left flabbergasted to stare blankly up at the ceiling until a feeling of euphoria and absolute joy swept over me because _holy shit praise the Shinigami_ this was the elemental nations; a world where kids were taught to spew fire from both ends and man walked on water as easily as they would on land. Where animals lived for centuries and prophesied the future and the space-time continuum could be ripped apart with paper and ink. Where sentient monsters of energy roamed the lands and a single man could conquer nations.

With a feeling of absolute certainty, I knew my goal. In this world of demi-gods, I would transcend them all. Stronger than any before me, I would rise past men like Senju Hashirama who sealed all the bijuu and grew forests at a whim. Past Uchiha Madara who lived decades past his time and brought war and ruin to the whole continent. Past Nagato who could tear souls back from death's embrace. The rabbit goddess Kaguya who could step through dimensions with a thought would be swept aside and even the Sage of Six Paths would kneel before me.

 _Oh yes, a God has been born this day. May the world tremble beneath me._


	2. Chapter 1

**2 years old**

Learning to read Japanese was a pain in the ass. Clearly whoever came up with the system was a sadist with too much time on his hands and decided to screw over future generations by making them learn three alphabets. Learning it took _a lot_ of effort, but since I wasn't allowed to leave the orphanage yet, I always had too much time and not enough things to do to fill it. I was a very quiet baby, no doubt what resulted in my favoured status amongst the caretakers. Now when I say favoured, I mean they mostly let me do whatever I wanted as long as I didn't cause trouble or get myself killed. The orphanage was an alright place to be, not nearly as bad as it could have been, and for that I was grateful. We were fed enough and kept warm and sheltered with all our basic needs met. However, most of the caretakers were rather indifferent to us. I assumed it was because they had seen so many orphans come and go that they had used up any affection they had years ago. Only the younger ones gave us any real care, and the needy children gravitated towards them. It's no wonder all the orphaned ninja turn out odd, they start having issues from a young age where we were left to raise ourselves.

Luckily for me, I didn't need, nor want anyone hovering over me, and as such I explored the orphanage. It was a rather large building, filled with hallway after hallway of rooms. The older children were in a different section from us, but it was no trouble for me to go wandering through the halls and observe everything. The children were very helpful, all I had to do was give them the affection they craved in the form of warm smiles and an awed look, babbling away about how awesome my nee-sans and nii-sans were and they would sometimes read to me. Soon enough, I had access to all their books, and while I often stumbled over a words, it didn't take too long for me to learn. Once I had done that, I devoured every book in the orphanage at a furious pace; fiction books, history books, academy texts. The academy texts were fascinating. They raised more questions than they answered, but they were a glimpse into the world of chakra and power.

I had planned to wait until I was three to start experimenting with chakra because I was so young. I would probably use up my tiny reserves and die of chakra exhaustion before doing anything. But even though I didn't mould any, I made sure to meditate every night, feeling it flow through my coils like a comforting stream.

Chakra is a wondrous thing. The textbook explanation of it being a mixture of physical and spiritual energy is, while true, somewhat lacking in my opinion. It was only after an incident around my first birthday that led me to the theory that chakra actually stemmed from the soul. You see, your soul is essentially where the spiritual energy comes from. It is the sum of your determination, personality, convictions and experiences. This spiritual energy enters your body and is mixed with the physical energy produced by your body in the hara of the stomach. This mixture is called chakra, which then flows around your body, permeating every cell. Because my body no longer contained its original soul and now has my unique spiritual energy flowing through it, I developed a new trait that was never originally there.

It was a few weeks after my first birthday, not that I knew that at the time, and I was toddling around. It was as lunch approached and I went looking for food that one of the caretakers, a young woman named Naomi, caught sight of me. She had been holding a baby and nearly dropped it when she yelped in shock. She then proceeded to freak out and instantly dashed from the room, leaving me in a state of confusion. She returned soon after with the most senior matron, Honoka, and said something too fast for my still burgeoning language skills to catch. The matron took one look at me, swept me up in her arms, and after telling Naomi she would be back, promptly shoved some shoes onto my feet and left the orphanage.

That was the first time I had been out, and despite not knowing what was happening, I was curious. Unfortunately, instead of being able to see the sights of Konoha, I had a hat shoved on my head and the elderly matron held me so that I was looking only at her shirt. We finally entered a building that I could hear was bustling with people and filled with sounds. Despite my squirming, the matron held on tightly and wouldn't let me see what was going on. She spoke to someone and we were led into a room where we waited for fifteen minutes, me growing increasingly impatient. Finally we were ushered into another room, and I caught a glimpse of where we were. The hospital.

"You said there was an emergency ma'am?" The nurse asked politely.

"It's Honoka. And yes, look at his eyes. They were normal yesterday, and now they look like this."

 _My eyes? They feel normal, and I haven't noticed anything different about my vision._

The nurse came over and after an intrigued look, took out a penlight and shone it into each eye.

"Pupil contraction looks good, let's see." The nurse lifted green glowing hands to my face while I looked on in fascination.

"Oh! This is interesting. It seems he has a high amount of spiritual energy. It's also very strong. His body seems to be producing more physical energy as an attempt to balance it."

"What does that mean? And why do his eyes look like that?"

"As he ages and his body grows, I theorize that he will continue to produce more physical energy than a normal child his age as his body seeks to correct the imbalance. He will have more chakra. As for his eyes, do you know who his parents were?"

"Not really, all we know is his mother gave birth to him at the orphanage and that she was an… entertainer from Wave country. According to her, his father was most likely some minor noble from Wind. It's how we made up his last name. They were both civilians in any case."

 _Holy shit, I've been here for a year and I don't even know my own damn name! Oh Shinigami, please tell me my name doesn't mean something stupid, like 'noble entertainer'. I'll have to change my name when I become a god._

Unaware of my internal musings, the nurse continued:

"Ah, well some people with unique chakra can develop new physical characteristics. It seems he will be an excellent shinobi." Turning to me the nurse continued. "Congrats young one, you've just gotten a scholarship to the ninja academy."

 _Huh_. I hadn't even realised I would need a scholarship; I had assumed that every orphan was allowed to apply. Thinking about it now though, I suppose that with the number of orphans, there would be a lot of kids who don't have the intelligence or natural talent to make it far. I was very pleased, but I still didn't know what had happened to my eyes.

"Nurse-san, may I see please?" I spoke up for the first time since this whole debacle began. The nurse look shocked that I was already speaking at such a young age, but recovered quickly.

"Of course, I'll get a mirror. Honoka-san, do you have his file? I'll have to update it and make a copy for the hospital records." She asked, turning back to the elderly woman.

"Yes I have it here." She handed the file over, and with that the nurse left the room. I sat there prodding around my eyes trying to feel something different but couldn't discern anything new. _Come to think of it I've never seen what I look like either._

The nurse re-entered the room to find me staring impatiently at her. She smiled, handing the mirror to me. Lifting it up to my face, I was greeted with bright eye-catching features. My face was cute in the way all young children were, the actual shape would become more obvious as I got older. My hair was what first grabbed my attention; it was _bright_. Brighter than any blonde in my old world, it was a shining golden-yellow that didn't look natural to me, but in this world where people had blue skin and gills and pink hair, it was probably quite normal. My eyes, the cause of this whole situation, were a brilliant sky blue. However, what also stood out was the golden ring around my pupils.

 _Whoa. That looks cool. Come to think of it, I look familiar..._

The nurse spoke up from where she had finished photocopying my file:

"Everything seems to be in order, Honoka-san. I also have a notification for a scholarship for one Namikaze Minato."

And that was the time I had learnt exactly who I was reincarnated as.

 **~~~~~~~~Four years old~~~~~~~~~**

The red light district of Konoha is your typical collection of shady streets and people you would find in any city of my old world. It seems like no matter what dimension, some things never change. The orphanage where I live was actually one of the nicer ones for civilian children. The orphanages for children from ninja parents were naturally much nicer, and they were not located in the red light district like mine was. In my past life I had rarely been to the red light district, and as such I was fascinated. The people were new and there were so many things to see. Of course, I knew it wasn't safe for a four year old to go wandering, but I had been experimenting with my chakra for the past year and I had finally come up with a solution.

Like I had promised myself, I started working with chakra when I turned three. Chakra is incredible. I couldn't get over how amazing it is. It's a wonder that more ninja don't go crazy with power. Even as a midget I could feel the raw power coursing beneath my skin. The power was wild and strong, and even when I didn't channel it I could feel the _potential_ bubbling underneath.

I started with the regular chakra control exercises, trying to draw chakra to various parts of my body. It was an instinctive process that was somewhat like trying to move a limb. Of course this was a limb I hadn't moved once in the three years since I had been born, so it was like trying to walk all over again. It wasn't easy by any stretch of the mind, and just because I had always been able to feel my chakra didn't mean I could move it easily. Knowing your arm is there is very different from moving it. It took a _lot_ of work, frustration and passing out from exhaustion, but I finally managed to stick a leaf to my forehead six months after I started. From there everything else was much easier. I could stick my feet to the walls, but I didn't dare try to walk up them because I didn't have anywhere near the upper-body strength to attempt that. After that I was walking on my bath water and finally, _finally_ I achieved my goal of forming chakra strings.

Moving chakra is merely an exertion of will; it was _want you to move, so you will_ kind of determination that made it respond. Forming chakra strings was actually very easy; I just thought them into existence. The problem was the strings that shot out were the width of my fingers and used up so much chakra that I had passed out almost immediately after forming them. It took two months of effort after that to make them really thin so I could sustain them without exhaustion. And even then, I only created two. Controlling them with objects attached to the end was _hard_. Hours spent with two pens whirling around the room and hitting myself with them was enough to give me massive respect for Sasori and his _hundreds_ of puppets. He must have been incredible at multi-tasking.

Ever since coming back from the hospital and being carried through the city I had realised where I lived. It wasn't hard to figure out from the hookers walking down the streets and the prevalent smell of sex and cheap alcohol floating through the air. Once I knew I lived in the red light district, I immediately knew I needed a way to protect myself if I ever wanted to leave the orphanage and explore the city; and by the Shinigami, did I want to explore. Konoha is beautiful; tall, majestic trees strategically placed to still allow sunlight down on the streets, old-fashioned Japanese homes, lanterns lining the paths and tall buildings with ornate kanji. It was like something out of an old samurai movie dropped into a forest with random electricity lines. I had only seen a very small part of the city and I was dying to see more. Waiting until I could defend myself was a trial, but wait I did. A few months after turning four, I deemed myself ready.

I snuck into the kitchen at night and picked the lock on the knife drawer with my chakra by connecting a string to the latch mechanism and sliding it. Taking two small knives, I then went on to re-appropriate a needle and some thread. The next day I sowed the knifes into the insides of my sleeves and practiced pulling them out with my strings. It took the whole morning to do it as fast as I wanted, but I was finally satisfied. After lunch, I opened the window of my room that I shared with two others and climbed down the wall in a gecko imitation. Once reaching the bottom, I set off.

The red light district of any town is where all sorts of people gather, from common crooks to the wealthy businessmen who have cash to blow and little inhibitions. As such, I knew it was also the place for information. Taking a leaf out of Jiraiya's book, I set off to find the classiest brothel in the district. After wandering for a good part of an hour I came across a building painted dark red with golden dragons and fans decorating the sides. Sneaking in after a group of men, I found myself in an old-fashioned room with wooden floors and red curtains lining the walls. The smell of perfume and incense filled the room and men and women were drinking sake at some of the tables, all watching a group women at the front of the room. They were dancing. The only light in the room was from the candles and as they moved the light flickered and glimmered off their revealing dresses. They glided across the stage with such confidence and grace as their limbs swayed, fans in their hands. They were stunning.

 _I want to learn that._

I suppose learning to dance isn't a very masculine thing to do, but I had been female in my previous life, so that didn't really bother me too much. And one day I would be a god, and why should a god be constrained by things such as gender?

Unfortunately, my hair doesn't lend itself to stealth very well, and I was quickly spotted by one of the serving girls. She was also very beautiful, with silky black hair spilling over her shoulders, and her steps were smooth as she glided towards me.

"What could a young lad such as you be doing here?" She asked coyly, smiling attractively at me. "Could it be you're looking for entertainment?"

My mouth reacted before I could get my brain to stop it:

"Well I suppose it really depends on how well you entertain, doesn't it?"

The woman look shocked before bursting out in laughter. "My my, such words from someone so young." She said looking highly amused.

"Well you were the one coming on to a four year old, so I figured turnabout was fair play." I jibed back. The dancer, and she had to be a dancer while moving with such grace, smiled at me again.

"As nice as this is, this is no place for one as young as you. How did you get in?"

"Snuck in behind some men." I said shrugging my shoulders. "Where did you learn to dance?"

"I was trained here. The owner of this place used to be a dancer and she taught everyone here. Now you really should head home child. What's your name?"

"It's Minato. Do you think she would teach me?" I asked, giving her a full blast of my puppy-dog eyes. She looked amused again, and asked, "Why would a young boy such as you want to learn to dance?"

"Because you look beautiful and so graceful, even when you walk. One day I will look like that." I swore with nod of my head.

The dancer hmmed, tilting her head to think. I could see her made up her mind to indulge me.

"Well, I don't think you can convince The Mistress, but I suppose there is no harm in taking you to her."

Beaming up at her I gave her my most sincere grin.

"Thanks nee-chan!" I chirped out. Smiling back at me, she took me by the hand and led me through a door I hadn't even noticed before turning down a hallway. Ignoring some of the sounds coming from the rooms, we reached a sliding door and she knelt down on the floor before knocking twice. A stern "enter" sounded and she slid the paper door back to reveal a room decorated in the same style as the rest of the brothel. Beautiful wall hangings and paintings lined the walls and a pair of fans was on display on top of a cabinet. The woman sitting behind the desk was an aged beauty, her greying hair piled elegantly on top of her head. Looking up she examined us silently before speaking.

"Masaki, why do you bring this child here?"

The dancer, Masaki, bowed her head before replying "I found him in the front room watching the girls dance. He says he wishes to learn."

The Mistress turned her gaze towards me and I made sure to keep my own strong as I looked back.

"Why do you want to dance child?"

Smiling up at her, I gave her a serious answer.

"Because one day I will be a ninja, and I intend to be the best. I will be so graceful that my every move will be captivating, and people will be inspired by my presence alone. Dancing is the way to achieve that."

Giving me a piercing stare, she gazed at me for a few moments more before saying dismissively "And why should I waste my time teaching you if you're just going to go away and become a shinobi?"

Drawing myself up, I allowed my chakra to bubble close to the surface of my skin. Fully dropping any pretense of a normal child, I allowed her to see _me._

"Because one day my name will be spoken with fear and awe in every corner of the world. I _will_ be the greatest shinobi to ever walk the earth, and I will _change_ things. And should there ever come a time when you are in need, I will come to your aid. This, I swear."

Silence echoed after my proclamation. I could see in the corner of my eye Masaki staring at me with wide eyes, but I didn't turn my gaze from The Mistress.

She too looked shocked, and I began to worry I had gone to far when a weighty silence stretched out. As I was considering saying something she spoke:

"I will teach you. Tell me, what is the name of the one who will change the world?"

"Namikaze Minato." I replied, smiling widely at The Mistress in both relief and excitement.

 _You won't regret this, I promise._

 _~~~~~~~~~~S.o.t.S~~~~~~~~~_

I was walking back to the orphanage that day, extremely pleased with the agreement to meet every morning for three hours. The Mistress was clearly a strict woman who would accept no less than my best. But that was exactly what I wanted. It was as I was nearing the orphanage that I got into my first fight of this life. In retrospect, I should have thought of covering my hair before leaving, it was going to get me into a lot of trouble with it being so bright. But I was vain. I'll admit it, I like my new looks. They're unique and one day I would earn the moniker 'The Yellow Flash' just like the original Minato, and people everywhere would see me and _know_ who I am.

Being reincarnated as Namikaze Minato didn't bother me overly much. Yes, he was an amazing badass, the Fourth Hokage and father of Naruto, etc. etc. And although I may be Minato now, I am still _me_. No matter what, I would not let anyone dictate my life, whether it was fate, destiny or even Kishimoto himself. Now that I am here, the plot will be disrupted because even if I tried to, there's no way for me to do exactly as Minato would have done. I certainly wasn't going to be having any babies anytime soon, for one I didn't know if I was straight or not. I had liked men when I was a woman in my past life, but who's to say that won't change now that I'm in a male body? Regardless, I figured if Naruto is destined to be born, he will be, whether he's from me or someone else.

The only thing that being born here does give me is an advantage. I know some of Minato's life and how it would have gone, which gives me time to plan accordingly. The only thing that I feel the pressure of doing is completing the Hiraishin because if I remember correctly, the leaf were losing the war until Minato wiped out a thousand of them in one go. I was going to be on the front lines, and if I was going to be fighting a war, I wasn't planning on losing. So Hiraishin it is, which I would have learnt anyway just because of it's badassery.

But right now, I was a four year old with golden hair and blue eyes and no jutsu to my name. It was obvious that I would catch the wrong type of attention.

They were two men, grungy looking and rather plain. You wouldn't have thought they were slave traffickers just by looking at them. Slave traffickers like unique people, both in my old world and this one where there was even more diversity, and as such they swaggered up to me, confident that they would be making profit today. And why wouldn't they be? I was four, alone and tiny. Unfortunately for them, I wasn't a normal four year old by any stretch of the mind. They started out with the cliché approach. In fact, it was so cliché I would have laughed if I hadn't been so disgusted.

"Are you alone little boy? Do you want some candy?"

Reigning in my repulsion, I made sure to keep it off my face. Giving them a superior look I replied:

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to accept candy from strangers? So naughty, rebelling at your age. You should know better."

I shot them my most disappointed look, inwardly cackling at the gob-smacked looks that appeared on their faces. I could see myself making this a habit.

The other man stepped forwards, an angry look forming on his face making him look rather comical with his badly cut goatee.

"You little shit, I'll –"

The candy-man who had first spoken put out a hand, stopping Goatee from moving closer. Turning back towards me with a fake smile, he spoke again:

"Look, you seem lost, how about you come with us and we'll help you find your way."

I let out a derisive snort and said with disgust, "How do you live with yourselves, you disgusting excuses of human beings? Targeting children. Its repulsive."

Even as I spoke my heart sped up and I curled my hands while subtly extending chakra strings from my index fingers to my knives. I could see my words get to them and both Goatee and Candy stepped closer, looming threateningly over me. With my heart thumping almost painfully in my chest, I gave them a chance.

"You don't want to do this, trust me." I said with all the seriousness I could muster, cursing my high-pitched voice. Surprisingly my voice was steady, so I went ahead and chalked a point up for myself regardless. Goatee just laughed patronizingly before taking a step towards the teenager standing nearby, scaring him off, the teen leaving with a guilty look aimed in my direction. I didn't blame him in the slightest. _These two however…_ My eyes darkened as I felt anger overcome fear. _What disgusting pieces of trash._

No longer waiting, I lifted my arms and with a flick of my fingers, knives came flying out of my sleeves. I sent one towards Candy's face, flying right past his eye and slicing into his ear. With Goatee, I wasn't nearly as kind. My other knife buried itself straight into his right foot, leaving both men howling, one in pain and the other more from shock. Pulling on my chakra strings, I willed my knives back to my hands and grasped them, one dripping blood. Candy was grasping his ear looking at me in horror while Goatee had collapsed to the ground, holding his foot.

"You freak! What did you do?"

I smiled coldly at them. "No less than you deserve. Be thankful I left you your limbs intact. If I ever hear of a next time, I won't be nearly as merciful. "

Hearing that, Goatee got back up with mindless rage burning in his eyes.

"I'll kill you, you little shit! Selling you is better than you deserve!"

Rage filled my own eyes as I thought about what could have happened to me. What _had_ happened to other children before me.

 _Never again, not by these pigs,_ I thought savagely, baring my teeth. I launched both knives forwards again, sending them through Goatee's hands and pinning him against the wooden wall of the building behind him. He screamed, and as I stalked towards him I felt my chakra bubble ominously under my skin.

"You're a despicable piece of shit. I was going to let you go with just your foot, but now I've changed my mind." My voice was calm as I cornered my prey. "I won't kill you, oh no. After all, I've decided that _death is better than you deserve_." I flung his words back at him viciously. Ripping one of the knives out of his hands with no care, I flicked my fingers bringing it up to his face, ignoring the whimpers he let out. Sending out another chakra string to attach to his face, I yanked it so he bared one cheek to me and couldn't move. Another twitch brought the blade into contact with his skin.

The man was begging now, but I had never been particularly merciful in my past life, and just thinking about how many times this must have happened before only fueled my rage. Carefully, with the precision I had learned from months of controlling chakra strings, I carved the kanji for 'pedophile' onto his cheek. A detached part of my brain idly thought _this would never have fit in English. Maybe the writing system here isn't so bad after all._

Releasing the man from my strings made him collapse against the ground. Turning to the other man who was still watching in horror, I lifted a knife and spun it threateningly before flicking it into the air and whirled it around in a bout of showmanship, enjoying the way the man flinched. The sound of running footsteps broke me out of my thoughts of teaching them a lesson, and I looked over to see the teenager who had run away earlier come back with a large muscled man in tow. They stopped suddenly and I could see them drawing conclusions as they stared at the bleeding man by the wall and the other one in front of me backing away in terror. I saw their eyes reach the bloody knives in my hands and they shot to my face, horror and disbelief written on their own. The man, he had to have been a bartender because he still had a towel draped across his shoulder, swallowed and stepped forwards.

"Hey kid, you ok?"

"Fine. What should I do with these guys?" I noted that I was being way too calm for the situation, and concluded in the back of my mind that I must be in shock.

At that the candy-man scrambled over to the other man still crumpled in a heap and helped him up. They stumbled out of the alley while I just turned to the barkeeper.

"We're going to let them get away?" I asked, although I didn't really feel up to a chase.

The barkeeper snorted before replying, "There's so many of those types here, even if we caught them all more would replace them almost instantly. It's best to just take note of the faces and warn everyone else here. Us Reds gotta take care of each other, you know?"

Frowning at this, I asked, "Why doesn't the Hokage do something? He must know this is happening."

The man snorted again. "The Hokage does do something. The Daimyo officially outlawed slavery in the Fire country, and the Military Police patrol around here sometimes. But you can't stop all of them, and the Hokage doesn't like to interfere with the Reds too much. He likes to keep an eye on this place for information, and doing that only works if people aren't too scared to come here, so he takes a hands-off approach. If he finds out that some of the underworld gangs are getting to bold, then he goes straight to top of the food chain and delivers a warning, usually in the form of dead bodies. Most people here know to stay within the unspoken rules."

"How do you know this?" I asked, intrigued, eyeing the barkeeper more intently.

The man grinned sardonically at me. "Kid, everyone here who's been here long enough knows this. You're still young, but I wager all of the older kids at the orphanage know about it. Bedsides, if you're ever running low on cash, then you can always pay a visit to one of the contacts in the area with information the Hokage might find useful. Those guys are the official ones, but I'm sure the Hokage has tons more hidden that we don't know about. He's a wily man, our Hokage."

 _I should have expected something like this. It makes sense, but I never thought about it because it didn't come up in the story. Stupid! This is real life now, not a story. Of course there's going to be a lot going on behind the scenes._

As I was mentally berating myself, the man spoke up again.

"Say kid, how did you do that earlier? It must have been impressive for a sprout like you to chase off two grown men."

Breaking out of my musings I looked at him sharply. _Is he digging for something?_

"I guess I just got lucky." I said shrugging it off. No way was I going to reveal secrets if I didn't have to. The man looked skeptically at the blades in my hands, but didn't enquire further.

"Well head home kid. Don't want something like this to happen again."

"Sure. And thanks." Belatedly, I realised what the man was looking for. Turning back, I said, "The name's Namikaze Minato. Having my name will get you a higher pay out, ne?"

 _Bullseye,_ I thought as the man looked briefly surprised before grinning at me

"You're a sharp one kid. Willing to tell me anything more?"

I laughed before turning back around and giving him a wave. With that I tucked my knives away, grimacing at thought of scrubbing the blood out of my clothes.

It was only after I got back to the orphanage that my body started to shake and I spent the rest of the day wrapped up in my blankets, curled up into a little ball on my bed. The only guilt I felt was at the fact I didn't feel more guilty about what I had done to those two men.

 **Yep, I know its odd how Minato can suddenly stab someone with little remorse, but it'll be explained in the next chapter. Reviews are always welcome!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Apologies for the delay, I was moving houses and going to my new job. But now that's out of the way, I'll be updating regularly! Stick around, I've got tons of plans.**

 **Chapter 2**

Real life is complicated. The anime was full of plot holes that made no sense and only to served to make the story more interesting. But now that I was actually here, there are so many things that I was finding out were never mentioned. I suppose there were hints, but the issues were skirted over for the sake of keeping the story appropriate for kids.

One of the things prevalent in the ninja world is mental problems. Everyone, from the common civilian baker to the nobles in the Daimyo's court know that ninja are mentally unstable. They just have to be insane _and_ loyal in order to stay in service to their Kage. In fact, the best ninja are the ones who are unhinged, but not to the point where they are unable to function on the field. It was shown in the jounin and Akatsuki members. The Akatsuki, made up of missing-nin, had major problems but were all insanely strong. Kakashi and Gai were the strongest jounin and also the weirdest. Kages are all unhinged as well, but just better at hiding it. Although their vices were shown in the fact that Terumi Mei, the fifth Mizukage, could suddenly turn deadly from just hearing someone talk about marriage, and how A, the fourth Raikage destroyed buildings on a daily basis. Tsunade was a drunken gambler and recovered haemophobic, but was easily welcomed back to become Hokage after years of absence because the only thing that matters is whether or not you can do your job, and do it well.

Konoha actually had the best reputation for mental stability to go along with our 'nice' image. We had regular tests that all ninja were required to go through in order to be cleared for service, both for physical abilities and mental 'maintenance'. If a ninja didn't have an able body and mind then they were put onto a strict regime in order to fix that. Psychological tests started at the start of first year in the academy before practical ninja skills were taught in order to weed out the unfit from learning secrets of ninja training. Those that had serious problems at a young age, whether mentally or physically, were shuffled into administration training or sent to a civilian school.

It was early on in this life when I realised my mental state was different from before. It was hinted in the anime where Minato could be the most terrifying person who slaughtered thousands of ninja but was still always cheerful towards his friends. It was because he just didn't care, or didn't care enough about his enemies and those that he killed. Now that I was in his body, I had come to realise that things I would have been horrified at in my past life served to merely make me uncomfortable.

Sociopathy is not a thing that you can be or cannot be. It is a scale in which you display some tendencies, either with a little antisocial behaviour and less remorse, or to an extreme degree. On that scale of one to ten, I would say Minato, and now I, was at around five or six. It was as I was manipulating the children, pretending to care for them in order to get them to teach me to read that I realised I was different. In my previous body (and isn't that a weird thing to say) I would have felt guilty about it, but still gone about my business anyway after a debate with morality in which practicality would win. Here, I only felt a morsel of guilt at manipulating kids who stood no chance of knowing what I was doing and promptly did it with nary a thought. It was only the fact that I didn't feel very guilty at all that made me feel bad. It was a selfish guilt, where I was worried about myself changing, which I had no control over.

In some ways, realising I had sociopathic tendencies was a relief. If I didn't feel as much guilt about everything, then killing people would be easier to cope with and there was less chance of faltering on my chosen path. I have always been a selfish person. When I was younger, both mentally and physically, I was a right brat and if I wanted something I would get it, even if I had to bulldoze over everyone else to do it. It was only my parents hammering morals and social niceties into my head that changed me into someone who would follow the rules of society and feel bad about harming others. Even then it was a bit of a toss-up. Now that my sense of guilt was diminished, it would be hard for me to stay the same person I had been. However there was nothing I could do about it, so I accepted it and waited to see what the future would bring.

It had been a week since my encounter with the two slave traders and meeting The Mistress. I had been out every day since then, attending morning lessons at sun-up and then getting to see the district for myself. Since I had been told about the unspoken rules of the Reds, I have observed the people even more closely. People often think that those who end up in the red light district lack the brains to get jobs elsewhere, but that could not be further from the truth. People here may not have proper education, but they are undoubtedly sharp in the ways of trickery and deception. If you look closely enough you can see the invisible undercurrents at work. Serving girls would sometimes bring a certain drink to a customer, and that would signal there was a need for a meeting between two people; the barkeepers knew everyone who came and went, constantly meeting up with contacts interested in the information they could provide, for a price of course; street boys ran between brothels, bringing warnings of men and women too violent and dangerous to entertain and should subsequently be drugged if causing trouble.

Yes, the red-light district was a very interesting place to be, and I found myself highly intrigued. I had gone back to the area where I had fought off the two slave traders, and scouted around. It didn't take me long to find the place I was searching for.

The Compass was a bar that doubled as an inn on the upper floors. It was a rather run-down place, but open and bright, and the atmosphere was good. When I entered, I quickly spotted familiar brown hair and an unkempt beard. It didn't take him long to see me as well.

"Well I'll be, if it isn't Minato! Come over here and take a seat. The name's Takeshi." The man who I had spoken to in the alley boomed out, causing heads to turn. The bar was rather empty, it being midday, but the people there all seemed to frequent the place often. I crossed the room and sent chakra to my legs, hopping onto a ridiculously high bar stool.

 _Man, I hate being four years old. I can't wait until puberty hits. Oh shit! I've finally lost it, I'm actually looking forward to puberty!_

Oblivious to my internal distress, Takeshi poured me a glass of water and set it on the bar.

"It's good to see you again, Takeshi." I said summoning up a smile. "But I was hoping for something a little better than water..."

Takeshi laughed before replying, "Too bad kid, you're still just a midget. When you become an adult I'll give you your first drink, on the house."

I grinned while taking a sip of my water. "I'll hold you to that."

"So what brings you to my fine establishment kiddo?"

I laughed before teasing, "You call this dive a fine establishment? I'd hate to see your idea of a shithole."

Even though I had only spoken to Takeshi once before, I felt myself relaxing in his presence. He was the kind of person that anyone could get to like, with his friendly attitude and lack of judgment. It was nice to be myself without receiving weird looks for my maturity. No doubt his demeanor made him an excellent barkeeper.

Takeshi laughed again before mock-scowling. "Better watch what you say kid, or I'll chuck your scrawny ass out."

I smiled sweetly at him.

"I'd like to see you try."

Takeshi gave me a look before barking, "Hah, I suppose I had that coming."

I just shook my head, smiling again.

"You haven't gotten into any more trouble, have you?"

"It's only been a week, how often do you think I get kidnapped?" I asked skeptically.

Takshi shrugged. "You never know with ninja."

I gave him an 'are-you-stupid-look'.

"I'm four years old." I deadpanned.

Takeshi grinned before saying, "Aye, but you're going to be a ninja. I have no idea how you moved those knives around, but its obviously some ninja trick. Even if I hadn't told the info-broker, I wager you'd be recruited anyway."

I shrugged my shoulders, negelecting to mention I already had a scholarship due to my unique chakra.

"What'd you tell 'em?" I asked.

"Everything I knew, which wasn't much." Takeshi shrugged.

I 'hmmed', nodding my head. I had already known Takeshi would have said everything, but I was probing to see how open he was to speaking to me about the subject.

"So how long have you been running this place then?" I asked, curious.

"Ah, it's been around six years. Used to be a merchant before the war came and my suppliers went out of business. I also lost too many caravans, so I decided to sell off what I had left and opened this place. It's much less profitable, but at least it's stable."

Ah yes, the Second Shinobi War. It was on a much smaller scale than the past World Wars of my world, but no less brutal. It was a common sight in Konoha to see people with missing limbs, both civilians and ninja. The streets were lined with starving people, and refugees were constantly flooding in. News of another town being destroyed came every week, and the people were weary. The war had been raging for the past 7 years, but by now it had toned down to vicious competition between the nations for resources and a cutthroat shadow war instead of massive battlefields. The orphanage had actually gotten a little better now that the war was simmering down, and although we still had rationed food, we sometimes got a sack of old apples or a little extra rice. We were never starved, but we were never really full either. I, of course, wasn't about to let that stunt my growth, and ever since I had figured out how to pick the lock with my chakra strings, I had been breaking into the food storage every night to steal something small that wouldn't be noticed.

Shaking myself out of my musings, I came to my main purpose for being here.

"Say Takeshi, I've been looking for a library, do you know where I could find one?"

Takeshi raised an eybrow before replying, "There's a few around, but the main one is couple streets away from the Hokage tower. You just head towards the tall red tower, can't miss it. But why come to me?"

I ducked my head in embarrassment before reluctantly admitting, "The first guy I asked didn't even know there were public libraries in Konoha, and the second gave me directions to a sex-toy shop. The third just ran away when I got near."

Takeshi threw his head back, booming out his loud laugh while I tried to get my blush under control.

"It's not funny, it's weird! Who sends a kid to that kind of store?" I said incredulously. Seriously, I had asked normal-looking people I happened to pass by on the street.

 _And what was up with that guy running away? People are strange._

Takeshi finally got his laughter back under control after a considerable time.

"Haha, kid, you've got a lot to learn!"

"Yeah, yeah." I grouched. "Laugh it up. But really, why would someone run away? I was just asking for directions."

Still chuckling Takeshi put his dish-cloth away.

"You're still new around here, so you won't know, but news spreads fast. People know that a blond midget carved up some slavers last week. I'll bet the guy you approached was part of the same organization."

"What! What do you mean carved up?" I spluttered. "You make it sound like I sent them home in chunks!"

"Rumours always get out of hand." Takeshi shrugged. "And you did send them packing rather nicely."

I sighed in exasperation before leveling a glare at him.

"I hope it wasn't you who started those rumours."

Takeshi grinned unrepentantly. "Nope, wasn't me who started 'em, but if someone asks it's only polite to reply truthfully."

I snorted. "Because you're _so_ worried about being truthful." I grumbled under my breath.

"So what were you doing there?" Takeshi asked curiously.

I let it drop and shrugged my shoulders.

"Getting dancing lessons."

Takeshi looked at me incredulously.

"Dancing lessons?"

"Yep." I said, popping the p.

"A real man you are, Minato." Takeshi teased.

"Better than being a waitress." I shot back.

A false wounded expression crossed his face.

"Waitress! I'll have you know being a barkeeper is a very manly profession."

At that moment one of the men at another table shouted, "Oi, Takeshi! Stop chatting with the kid and bring me a beer!"

Grinning, I hopped off my stool.

"Better get to it, gotta earn your tips somehow." I joked.

Takeshi rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"Alright smart-ass, get outta here."

I headed towards the door, with a "Thanks for the chat" tossed over my shoulder.

 _~~~~~~~~~~S.o.t.S~~~~~~~~~_

The Hokage tower was as easy to find as Takeshi had said. A massive red tower, taller than most other buildings, it was just below Hokage-Rushmore in the most defensible part of the village. Although the positioning was strategically sound, I couldn't help but wonder at the idea of having an important military building stand out so much. _Surely having it more subtle would be better? Or perhaps only the civilians are dealt with in the building, and the ninja meet elsewhere?_

Blurs moved swiftly over the rooftops, and I stared every time I saw someone soar overhead. To someone who had lived their life as a normal civilian, it was jarring to see a whole ton of supermen soaring above. I was eager to try it myself, but I knew my weak muscles and bones wouldn't be able to take my weight, as light as I was. Even with chakra enhancement, I was still too young and under-fed. Milk was scarce during wartime, and I had only started pilfering food a month ago.

The largest library in Konoha was found nearby, overlooking a small park. It was a large building, not nearly as large as some of the libraries I had seen on Earth, but for a library of under a century it was rather impressive.

I got a couple of raised eyebrows when I strolled in, but no one bothered me, so I was free to peruse the shelves. It didn't take long for me to find the section I was searching for. History. I knew next to nothing about how this world came to be, how long humans had been around for, what had happened before the Sage of Six Paths. Were there dinosaurs on this world too? Was there an ice age? Have people gone beyond the borders of the elemental nations?

What about the Summoning Realm? How did it come to be, and how in the world is it possible for animals to talk? How can fuuninjutsu possibly manipulate nature, and how could energy have sentience without a body like the Bijuu? I had so much to learn, so much I didn't know that it was daunting to even start. So I settled for the basic questions first.

Scanning the shelves for a book on the earliest history yielded disappointing results. The dates I saw only went back three hundred years, to the time of the Sage. It was ridiculous that there was only three hundred years worth of knowledge, when my people had documented thousands of years into the past. Exasperated, I gave up and headed to one of the desks. The librarian was a middle-aged woman who, stereotypically, had glasses and her black hair up in a bun.

"Excuse me ma'am?"

Frustratingly, she had to peer over her desk in order to see me, I was just that short. Scowling slightly as she saw me, she answered with an impatient "yes?"

Giving her a polite smile, I said, "I'm looking for history books that date back to before the Sage."

Slight interest crossed her face, before she said, "Due to the constant clan wars that took place before the founding of the shinobi villages, there aren't any books that can be found about that time. A lot of the knowledge was destroyed. Some Clan libraries will have records, I'm sure, but unless you are a part of one, then I'm afraid you're out of luck."

I scowled, but thanked her anyway before meandering back to the history section.

Three hours later saw me sitting at a desk with a heap of books stacked around me. The book towers were so tall, that should anyone have looked, all they would see were tufts of yellow-blond hair peaking over the covers. I had been skimming through dozens of books, and it only left me with more questions than I started with. It just didn't make _sense._ There was so much information missing, that I had no clue if it was being suppressed for some obscure reason, or if people just hadn't thought about it.

 _Maybe the chakra messed with their heads?_

I was one step away from tearing my hair out in frustration when the librarian approached me. She didn't look happy to see a small kid messing with her books. No doubt she was annoyed she'd have to put them all away. Plus, she probably thought I couldn't read yet.

"May I ask what you're looking for?" She said sharply, hoping to intimidate me so that I wouldn't waste anymore of her time. At that point I was so annoyed that I didn't even care what she thought of me anymore. _S_ _crew the consequences._

"Where are the maps for outside the elemental nations? Why are there no books about the clans? There aren't any old newspapers or records, and if someone has invented the television, why on earth are there no telephones?"

Not giving her anytime to respond, I whipped out a map of the elemental nations and their weather patterns.

"Have you seen this?" I demanded, sharply pointing my finger at it. "Look at these weather patterns and tell me if it makes sense. How can it be cold in Lightning, sweltering in Fire, and a fucking desert in Wind when they are so damn close to each other? And Wind doesn't make any sense! It's right next to the ocean, and there's only flat ground between the ocean and the desert. There are no mountains that could block the clouds from rolling in, no way the drought could be caused! It's like someone just dropped a heap of sand and heat there and kept it! Also, if there are people who control earth, why are we not all moving metal about just the same? And if we can control lightning, why are we not creating magnetic trains all over the country!?"

I was near shouting at this point, and the librarian was staring wide-eyed at the map and books I was shoving in her face. Panting, I felt much better after airing some of the questions I had agonized over for years since I had entered this world. Clearly I had been too forward and had shocked the librarian too much to answer.

"Well!?" I demanded, shaking the map once more. Pulling herself together, she blinked rapidly before taking the map.

"Ah, no one has been documented to have sailed across the ocean, and if they have, they never returned. I've never heard of a telephone before, and the only televisions we have are reserved for shinobi and the daimyo. The weather has always been like that, I don't see what's so puzzling about it. Clan information is, of course, classified, and only certain metals are capable of being magnetic, no one knows why. As for shinobi techniques, I have no idea about them."

 _So, no one's thought of telephones before? But I was sure they had radios? And they seem to be lacking in a lot of scientific knowledge. Some key areas, actually, I would have thought it would be necessary before advancing further, but apparently not. Now why wouldn't they have this knowledge?_

"How old are you, young man? How do you know about all these things?" The librarian peered at me intently over her glasses.

 _Ah, crap, I've made her suspicious._

"I'm four, but I've read all the books in the orphanage. Besides, I think it's more like how could I not know anything. I don't even know the details of the shinobi system, and I'll be joining one day."

"You're going to be a ninja?" The librarian asked, her tone changing.

"Yeah, I've got a scholarship to the Academy."

To a civilian, ninja are super-human people who can preform magic. A really smart kid is not that unusual when you compare me to the people who can see through walls, read minds, or house bugs in their own bodies. I had also mentioned it so she would stop prying; no one likes to get involved with shinobi secrets.

"Well, I expect you to put everything back where you found it."

"Of course ma'am."

After she had left, I turned back to my work, taking out a notebook I had re-appropriated from a boy at the orphanage.

 _Hiro is a lazy bum anyway, it's not like he would miss it even if I took all of his school things._

Glancing at the tall stacks of books surrounding me, I sighed again.

 _This is going to take a loooong time._

 _~~~~~~~~~~S.o.t.S~~~~~~~~~_

I only stayed at the library for another two hours before packing up and leaving with a pounding headache at the influx of information. It was early March and the sun was low in the sky. Breath misting in front of me and bag bumping my back, I hurried through the Konoha streets. I really liked Konoha, and I could see how people could devote themselves to the place. The trees were bare, sparkling with early spring frost, and the buildings were colourful and friendly. Laughter could be heard from bars and the people were bustling about despite the on-going war. Restaurants had lit lanterns, and the soft glow spilled out onto the street. Konoha truly was a beautiful place to live, even I wasn't immune to its charm. Entering the orphanage, I was met with a gust of warmth, and gratefully took off my scarf and jacket, placing it on my bed. Takeo and Ise, my roomates, were used to me slipping in and out of the window by now, and just greeted me.

"You nearly missed dinner Minato." Takeo, an older boy who looked out for both Ise and me said.

"Sorry, I was at the library." I shrugged my bag off my shoulder and stuffed it under my bed, stretching my back in relief. "How was school?" I asked.

"Same old. I did find a master to teach me though!" Takeo spoke proudly.

Takeo was fourteen years old and would be graduating civilian school at sixteen. Then he would be given a year to get a job and enough money to support himself, and at seventeen, he was required to move out of the orphanage. He had aspirations of becoming a blacksmith.

"Oh yeah? That's great! What's he like?" I queried as we queued in the large cafeteria for our dinner. Kids were jostling each other in line and talking loudly.

Takeo rubbed his head in embarrassment saying, "Well, he's ok, he was rather drunk, but his workshop looked alright. I'm sure it was just an off day though, I'll learn tons from him!" He finished, nodding enthusiastically.

I wasn't nearly as optimistic as him, but didn't vote my doubts.

"That's great Takeo, I'm sure you will. And even if he isn't that good of a teacher, as long you do your best I'm sure you'll get far."

I wasn't lying about that, Takeo was rather passionate about blacksmithing. If he had been born into a better station, he no doubt would have had lots of options for a master. It was just unfortunate that he was an orphan. Taking our trays consisting of a bowl of rice, vegetables, and a small portion of unidentifiable meat, we moved to 'our' table. A group of children of varying ages sat there and greeted us as we joined them.

"Minato, Takeo, you're late!" A boisterous boy called loudly.

"Shut up Ryuuto, you're so loud!" That was Mara, a thirteen year old girl who acted like a cranky old lady.

"Aw, come on Mara, don't be like that!" Ryuuto laughed.

I interjected before they started squabbling again.

"I lost track of time at the library."

"Heh, I can't believe you're sneaking out of the orphanage Minato!" Ryuuto grinned.

"Our secret, right?" I winked at him.

"Of course!"

"You shouldn't do that." Mara sniffed. "You'll get caught, and when you do, I'm not going down with you."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." I smiled at her. "I got you the book you wanted by the way. Stop by my room after dinner."

Mara looked torn between disapproving and pleased, and in the end just nodded.

"Did you get my book too Minato?" A small voice asked.

Turning to my right, I grinned at the shy ten year old boy.

"Of course, I wouldn't forget." I said.

The boy smiled bashfully, looking pleased.

"Thanks Minato."

As dinner progressed, I leaned back to consider my friends. I had cultivated this group very carefully and brought them together. Ryuuto was often annoying and loud, but also very friendly and he had lots of friends in the civilian academy. He wanted to be a merchant, and had befriended all of the merchant children at his school. Mara was constantly grumpy, but she had a real talent for math. The shy boy, Eiji, was brilliant at science, and a true genius when it came to chemistry. Misumi had a job as a waitress, but she had a dream of owning her own restaurant and was a marvellous cook. When I told her about some recipes from my old world, she was able to recreate them, and they were delicious. Takeo was bull-headed and stubborn and wanted to become a smith that legendary ninja would visit. I had high hopes for them all. With a bit of encouragement and aid, I was sure they would go far, and I helped them anyway I could, while making sure they were loyal to me. It was a win-win scenario. I would help them achieve their dreams, and they would help me achieve mine. The fact that they didn't get a say in the matter didn't bother me. After all, I was just aiding them in getting what they wanted.

I went to bed satisfied with the day, only to remember I had dance lessons in the morning with a sadist known as The Mistress. Groaning, I stuffed my face into my pillow and prayed that when I went there tomorrow, she would go easy on me. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised that wasn't the case.

 **Finally, a chapter! Tell me what you think. The next one covers Minato's dance lessons.**

 **Blackbird out~**


	4. The Mistress

**The Mistress P.O.V**

The Mistress was an old woman. She had worked as a dancer and prostitute during the reign of The First Hokage. When her body had started to slow and her face began to show her age, she retired. Buying her own place and starting a brothel was a natural progression, and before long The Dancing Dragon became very popular amongst visiting nobles and businessmen. Shinobi came often as well, looking for the warmth and touch of another human that did not mean harm. The Mistress had seen many different types of people from all walks of life; the stuffy corrupt nobles with their arrogance and sick fantasies, the abused women looking for companionship, desperate teens searching for any kind of work. She had listened to Shinobi cry in their sleep, had comforted heartbroken men and women, and heard the scandals of the court from the wives of noblemen; participated in quite a few of those scandals with the same wives. At the age of seventy-two, very few things surprised her.

Meeting Namikaze Minato was not a surprise. A surprise is a sudden birthday party, or a visit from a family member you haven't seen in years. No, 'surprise' does not encapsulate the sheer magnitude of feelings she experienced when they met.

Namikaze Minato was a hurricane. A storm, just like his name suggested. When she first saw him trailing into her office behind Masaki, she immediately noted how small he was. The next thing she saw was his hair. As bright as the sun at its peak in the sky, her office seemed brighter just from him entering.

She listened to Masaki tell her why he was here, and decided to indulge the small boy.

"Why do you want to dance child?" The Mistress asked, turning her gaze to him.

Blue, crystalline, beautiful blue eyes with golden rings.

Seeing his eyes nearly made her gasp, not because of their appearance, although that was shocking too. No, it was the calculating intelligence, weighing her up, measuring her worth that made her suppress a shiver. A second later the child smiled, and she almost thought she had imagined it. When the boy spoke, it was with more clarity and eloquence than one his age should possess.

"Because one day I will be a ninja, and I intend to be the best. I will be so graceful that my every move will be captivating, and people will be inspired by my presence alone. Dancing is the way to achieve that."

Determination ran true in his voice, but while intrigued, The Mistress saw no reason why she should help him. She told him so.

"And why should I waste my time teaching you if you're just going to go away and become a shinobi?"

It was as if a switch had been flipped. The child stood straight and the feeling of winds howling, waves crashing, thunder and lightning and fury and _storm_ resonated through the room. The golden blue eyes changed again and the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight.

"Because one day my name will be spoken with fear and awe in every corner of the world. I _will_ be the greatest shinobi to ever walk the earth, and I will _change_ things. And should there ever come a time when you are in need, I will come to your aid. This, I swear."

The world seemed to pause as he made his declaration. The Mistress couldn't stop the shiver that ran through her this time. Those were not the eyes of a child. Staring at the being before her, a thought sprung unbidden to her mind.

 _What are you?_

Still, she could feel his sincerity when he swore. She did not know what this otherworldly creature in front of her was, but she knew he meant every word he said.

 _I will change things._

Another shudder ran up her spine as she made up her mind. She would teach this nature spirit trapped in a child's body. She did not know what gods brought him here, but he asked, and she would answer.

"I will teach you. Tell me, what is the name of the one who will change the world?"

The golden haired storm-spirit smiled, and it was like the sun after a typhoon.

"Namikaze Minato."

 _A fitting name,_ she thought. Yes, she would teach this being to dance. Fluid like the waves, Fierce like the winds, and as unstoppable as a storm.

 **Hey all, sorry this isn't a chapter! It just wrote itself and I had to upload it. I'll get the new chapter up next.**

 **Blackbird out~**


	5. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Arm higher! Not that high, you look ridiculous."

"Legs closer together, make your stance stable."

"Stop making that face, a dancer never shows anything but serenity!"

I was in the backroom of the Dancing Dragon, sweat drenching my form as The Mistress drilled me mercilessly. She was a strict teacher, always pushing me beyond my limits, never letting up once. When I had asked for dancing lessons, I thought it would be… well, dancing. But The Mistress had apparently decided that if she were to be teaching me, she would go all out. Every day, lessons started at six in the morning, where I do stretches while she lectures me about the roles of a geisha. Then we move onto fan maintenance and appearance, and then we finally get to the actual three hours of dancing. After I collapse from exhaustion, she will talk about etiquette in all sorts of situations and finally she will teach me about religion. In the past month, I had learned more about make-up and dresses than I had known in my previous life.

On the plus side, I would be getting a break soon as the Daimyo had decided to pay Konoha a visit from the capital with nobles, advisors and bodyguards in tow. As a brothel aimed to entertain the upper-class citizens, The Dancing Dragon was expecting to be very busy soon.

I stood straight as I finished my basic form, wiping sweat from my brow. Looking over at The Mistress for approval, she nodded before saying, "Now tell me, what are the rules that dancers must always follow?"

I sighed before obediently chanting the words that have been drilled into my head.

"A dancer is always nimble and elegant, we personify grace. A dancer always shows nothing but serenity. So I swear by the Dragon, when dancing I will aim to be as beautiful as the sea itself."

When The Mistress had first told me about Ryujin, the Dragon God of the Seas, I had been shocked to realize how much religion there was on this world. I knew about the Death God – how could I not believe in it when I had seen it tear the souls of Hokages away in another life – but I hadn't grasped the impact the gods have on this world.

The Mistress and all the girls at the brothel swear by Ryujin, the Golden Dragon. Apparently the Uchiha bring their children to their shrines when they are born and ask them to be blessed with Amaterasu's flames. The Inuzuka used to be known as mountain Inugami – dog gods – known for their brutal ways of killing people in the Era of the Warring States. They pray to the Yama-Inu, a dog spirit who lives in the mountains and either kills travelers or befriends them, depending on his mood.

I don't know enough about Japanese religion to know if the stories matched up to my old world, but I do remember that Inugami were known for their berserker ways and unstoppable rage. They were often invoked through acts of cruelty and murder. It fits what I know of the Inuzuka; loyal to their pack only, and completely ruthless to others – just like their animalistic nature dictates.

For someone who had been an atheist, it was a jarring change. In my previous life I had scoffed at the idea of any god or being dictating my actions. And with scientific explanations emerging all the time, religion wasn't as prominent as it had been in the past. It was a huge difference to suddenly be in a world where _everyone_ believed in the gods.

Sure, the different clans prayed to different gods, but everyone believed all of them existed. When The Mistress had first started teaching me about the gods, I had remained skeptical but listened in nonetheless. After my first lesson about Ryujin, I had asked if anyone believed in them. The Mistress had given me the weirdest look before asking me if I believed in trees. After my own weird look, I had, of course, said that I did. She then replied with, "Just as the trees exist, so too do the gods. It is not a matter of belief." To them, the gods exist just the same as the ground we walk on and the air we breathe.

This contradicted every belief I had about religion. I was too logical to suddenly accept such a massive change without proof, and the part of my brain with the scientific method ingrained in, learned after years of schooling since childhood, protested. So I didn't bother to try and change my views about all these new Japanese gods. If I ever met one or saw their interference in person, then I would believe it. But until then, I would learn about the gods whilst happily continuing my heathen ways.

Except for the Shinigami of course. I most certainly believed in the Death God.

"Very good." The Mistress said, nodding after my recitation of the rules. "Now go over the basic forms ten more times."

I refrained from groaning even as I dragged my tired limbs into the starting position. The Mistress reminded me of my old piano teacher.

 _Man, all of my teachers are absolute slave drivers._

My small size was a hindrance, and even with chakra circulating my body, it gave out sooner than I would have liked. It wasn't long before I collapsed, lungs heaving, desperately trying to get oxygen into my body. I wasn't worried though, this was routine by now. The Mistress then gave me water and we would moved onto lectures while I recovered.

I honestly think I scared her a little. I have no doubt that I came across as a very creepy child. I was driven in ways that normal kids weren't, and I never complained. Not even once. It would have been rude to do so after she had sacrificed so much time to teaching me. So everyday I would dance until I collapsed, again and again. My attitude must have been rather intimidating, because The Mistress often had a strange look in her eyes whenever I forced my shaking limbs up again. She was too good of an actress to allow anything to show in her countenance at all, but she gave off a wary feeling.

Still, she shouted at me and scolded me when I got something wrong, like any good teacher should. But she also never treated me like a child. I was grateful that she recognized that I was different, but still taught me anyway.

The hours flew by as the sun rose higher in the sky. When noon came, I bowed to her as thanks and left the brothel. I stretched my constantly aching muscles out as I made my through the streets. I had made an effort to learn my way around the place, learning all the nooks and crannies, the drop-off points, the places where gangs congregate; I had hung around some of the boys from the orphanage who did odd jobs in the district.

Meandering into central Konoha, I passed out of the red-light district and into a residential area. I made my way to a familiar run-down house with cheerful flowerpots on the windowsills. Walking up the small path leading to the front door, I knocked a couple times.

"Obaa-san? It's me, Minato."

I heard shuffling before an elderly lady opened the door. Her face was lined with wrinkles, and her back was hunched, but her whole countenance brightened up as she saw me.

"Minato-kun, come in! What brings you here?"

I stepped into the small house and took my shoes off. Setting them by the door as the woman shuffled into the kitchen.

"Just dropping by, Obaa-san. My lessons finished early, so I thought I would pay you a visit."

She smiled as she put the kettle on.

"You're too kind Minato-kun. I'm sure you have more interesting things to do than visit me." She said even as she patted my cheek fondly.

Jun Amaya had lost her husband in the early years of the First Shinobi War. He was a ninja who had died young, just like so many others. They had only just married and didn't have any children. Amaya never married again, and instead worked as a waitress to support herself. Now that she was too old to work, she lived off her savings and the meager allowance Konoha provides widows of ninja.

Our meeting was a random occurrence. I had gotten lost (again) trying to find Takeo's new workplace, and I had ended up in a residential neighborhood. Amaya had been on her way back from the shops and dropped one of her bags. Now, I may not have many morals, but I do have manners. I helped her home and she invited me in for tea.

It was obvious to see that Amaya was a lonely old woman, and I couldn't help but pity her. So I made it a habit to stop by whenever I was in the area. Sometimes I would go to her place and help her cook dinner. At first it was because I wanted the extra food, but she was also genuinely kind and treated me like I was her own grandchild. It wasn't until I realized that I was honestly fond of her that I grasped that I had missed genuine care. I hadn't received anything resembling familial affection in this lifetime, and I hadn't realized how much I missed it. So while she was right, and I did have better things to do, visiting her wasn't a chore at all.

"How were your lessons, Minato-kun?" Amaya asked.

I mentally grimaced, but smiled outwardly.

"Same as usual, The Mistress is still as good a teacher as she always is."

 _Still as strict too._

"Still as strict?" Amaya smiled knowingly.

I smiled back sheepishly.

"You know me too well Obaa-san."

~~~~~~~~~~S.o.t.S~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The orphanage was unusually busy as I arrived back. I pulled over one of the older kids to ask what was going on.

"You mean you haven't heard? The ninja recruiter is coming today! _And_ they say it's one of the legendary three! Can you believe it! One of the Sannin is coming here!"

My eyebrows shot up, before a smirk made its way across my face.

"Is that so? That's… interesting."

"Interesting!?" The unsuspecting kid said incredulously. "That's all you have to say?"

My smirk grew wider.

"Yes. _Very_ interesting."

 **Just a filler chapter this time, we'll be seeing more happening in the next one. I have new years resolution to post chapters more often, so we'll see how it goes. Any suggestions may be added in if I like them.**

 **Merry Christmas and happy new year all!**

 **Blackbird**


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